Best Of My Love (Home to Green Valley Book 4) (18 page)

“I’m part-owner of the establishment in which you stand. I’d be happy to show you the deed if you don’t believe me. And my brothers could always come out, too. Maybe you haven’t met them. The three of them.” He cast a glance at Frat Boy’s two friends. Both of them stepped back.

Frat Boy made the mistake of scoffing. “Gimme a break.” He shoved Riley aside, meaning to get back to his stool. It was all the excuse Riley needed to lay into him.

“Riley, no!” It was too late. He took Frat Boy by the collar and hauled him outside. Dozens of customers ran to the window to see what would happen. Erica ran to the kitchen, instead, calling for Riley’s brothers, who all came running. They all headed outside.

Riley and Frat Boy circled each other.

“Riley, please,” Erica called. “Come inside. He’s not worth it.”

“Listen to your girlfriend, pal. Unless you want me to lay into you.” Even Erica could hear the tremor of fear in Frat Boy’s voice.

Riley laughed. “Come at me. Let’s go. I gave you the chance to leave, and you didn’t take it.”

Frat Boy glanced around, blanching when he caught sight of Quinn, Brady and Sean.

“What’s this? The Irish Mafia?” He looked a strange shade of green, Erica noted.

“Aye, friend. We had to leave Ireland to escape prosecution for our crimes.” Brady’s voice was tight, as were his fists.

Erica bit back a laugh.

“All right. I know when I’m outnumbered.” He held up his hands in surrender. The boys relaxed, even Riley.

Then he made a mistake, though. He looked at Erica as he passed, scoffing. “Slut.”

Riley leaped at him, landing a single blow to the other man’s face. His nose spurted blood. Riley shook out his hand.

“You deserved it,” Sean muttered, taking Riley by the arm to lead him inside. Riley looked murderous, spitting in Frat Boy’s direction. The boys went back inside, while Frat Boy’s friends collected him from the sidewalk and led him away.

Erica shook slightly as she went back inside. Brady and Quinn worked hard to pick up spirits in the pub, smiling, joking, pouring beers. The customers seemed to dismiss what happened.

There was no Riley. She didn’t even know where he’d come from, hadn’t realized he was in the building. She went to the kitchen, where he was wrapping his fist in a makeshift ice pack.

Sean saw her enter and left like the kitchen was on fire. She stared at Riley, waiting for him to speak. When he didn’t, she said, “Thank you for that. I was all right, though.”

He rolled his eyes. “Aye, you looked all right. That octopus had his tentacles all over you.”

“I know. It wouldn’t be the first time.” She shrugged.

“Next time Brady offers to get rid of somebody for you, don’t tell him not to. He’s the owner.”

She frowned. “So you’ve been back here, spying on me? Too much of a coward to come out and say hello?”

His jaw dropped. “Were you just out there? Did you see what I did? Was that something a coward would do?”

“There are all kinds of ways to be a coward.” Deep down inside, she wanted to throw her arms around him, thank him up and down for protecting her. He’d been the man she needed him to be, protecting her from harm, but now all she sensed was animosity and distance between them.

Hold me
, she thought.
Put it all aside and hold me. Please. I need you.

He didn’t. Instead, he turned and left without a word. She managed to wait until he was gone, until he couldn’t hear her anymore, before starting to cry.

Chapter Twenty-Two

It was hell, staying away from Erica. There was no other solution, though. He couldn’t face her until he knew the deal with Lucy. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise, confusing her with things like feeling and desires and dreams, when he couldn’t give her a clue about what his life might look in about nine months from now.

He’d thought he might be able to be near her. That was why he’d gone to the restaurant the night that asshole groped her. He hadn’t been able to stay away, though. And she’d only gotten pissed at him. It had been a mistake, so he made sure now that he stayed away from her as much as possible.

“You can’t hide from Erica forever,” Quinn told him almost a week after he’d fought for her. They were sitting down to breakfast at Quinn’s house, the five of them. Conor had driven in from San Francisco, and while Lilly had returned to Miami a couple of days after Dad’s birthday celebration, Brady and Conor had obviously asked their girls for some time alone, because Anna had accompanied Madlyn and her son Jax to a children’s museum in Napa.

Even though they were at Quinn’s house, Brady had done the cooking. Brady was the best cook of the bunch, and he’d went all out preparing the sort of meal Americans didn’t eat. It was amazing, the way they thought pancakes or French toast was a good breakfast, but they’d balk at the idea of eggs, bacon, sausage, blood pudding, beans, tomatoes and soda bread. It was “too much,” they said.

Brady plated up the grilled bread, which Riley dipped into the yolks of his fried eggs. He tried to avoid Quinn’s penetrating stare, but there was no getting away from it.

“It’s only been a week, and I know she’s had her exams to focus on. I’m not trying to hide from her forever,” he said, keeping his voice low. The last thing he needed was a lecture, but it seemed as though Quinn was in the mood to deliver one whether his brother wanted it or not. “I’m waiting for word from Lucy to decide what she wants,” he explained. “So I can tell Erica and then she can make an informed decision about whether she wants anything to do with me or she’d rather move on.”

“Are you waiting to give her more information? Because it seems like you can do that without pushing her away first, which is exactly what you’re doing.”

This was from Conor. Riley loved his middle brother, but the guy didn’t know what he was talking about. “
She’s
the one who asked for time and space away from me. You weren’t in the bar that day to hear it, but that’s what she said.”

“Are you gone in the head?” Quinn snapped.

“What?” Riley said.

“She was in shock, you daft prick. Christ.” Sean shook his head. “She wants you. All she’s waiting for is a sign that you still want her.”

“I think I gave her that sign when I whaled on the asshole who touched her, don’t you think?”

“No, because then you walked away from her, maggot,” Brady said.

“Only to give her space. Time.”

“Oh, the same space and time she wanted to give you? The same space and time neither of you actually want but are too damn hurt and confused and stubborn to admit?”

Riley opened his mouth to argue with Brady, but then shut it when he realized there was no point. They were all right. Riley
was
a daft prick. He’d
wanted
to do the right thing and give her space and time, but it was the last thing
he
wanted. Maybe that’s how she felt, too, and they were simply crossing their wires given the shock they’d all been dealt. “I’ve been an epic prat.” Riley pushed the food around on his plate, wishing he could dissolve into the floor.

“What are you gonna do about it?”

“I don’t know,” Riley admitted. “I don’t know if there’s anything I can do. The day after I confessed my love for her, she had to hear I got another woman pregnant. What kind of romantic gesture will make up for that?”

The five of them sat in near silence, the only sound coming from their knives and forks against their plates.

“What does she like?” Conor asked.

Riley shrugged. “Lots of things. Old music. Queen, especially.” The others made approving noises. “Dancing. The holidays—she’s a Christmas freak. Even wears Christmas socks in the middle of May.”

“Buy her something nice,” Brady suggested.

“Nah, she’s not that type of girl,” Sean argued. “She’s not the one to go for gifts over emotion.”

“Sean’s right,” Riley decided. “A piece of jewelry would work for some, but not for her. I wouldn’t want to be with her so badly if that would do it.”

They fell silent again.

“I don’t even know if she wants to have anything to do with me, to be honest,” Riley muttered. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she told me to shove it up my arse.”

“She’s not the type, and you know it,” Sean said. “I’ve been watching her. She seems upset without you. I’m sure she wants to work it out.”

Riley wasn’t so sure. But he was going to take his brother’s word for it and try to work it out any way he could.

He missed her. So damn much.

He was through throwing himself a pity party. He had a life to live. One that looked like it would include a child.

He just hoped it also included the woman he loved: Erica.

Chapter Twenty-Three

After what happened, it was a miracle Erica managed to get through her final exams. She passed them all with high grades, but even that didn’t make much of a dent in her depression. Damn Riley for making her fall for him, then walking away.

She knew that wasn’t a fair assessment. She knew that he’d wanted to talk things out with her, and that she’d pushed him away, telling him Lucy’s pregnancy had nothing to do with her. Telling him he needed time and space to decide what he wanted to do.

But in the end, he’d been the one to turn and walk away from her, and in her irrational brain, it felt like he’d abandoned her. She was fine to play around with, but the girl back home was the one that would always hold his heart. It was the only explanation, otherwise he would never have disappeared, no matter how hard she’d pushed.

For the better part of a week, the one before finals, she never saw him—except for the night when he laid Frat Boy out flat on the sidewalk. Then, she had exams to worry about. She’d taken the week off to focus on them. As though she could focus.

Her first night back at work was the Friday after the last final. After her shift, she fully intended to go out and drink herself into oblivion with her girlfriends at the club afterward. It had been a heck of a semester, and she deserved to let loose.

Unfortunately, she had to get through work first. She’d lost Riley, but she couldn’t afford to lose her job too. So what if she dreaded seeing Riley there—or hearing that he’d moved back to Ireland, which was a very strong possibility? He’d made it clear she meant nothing to him. It was time to get herself together.

In her heart, she knew she was fooling herself. That she wouldn’t be able to work at The Stylish Irish anymore. She wouldn’t be able to see Riley and his brothers everyday, a constant reminder of all that she’d lost.

Despite everything, she still loved Riley. She always would. It was as simple, and as tragic, as that. Somewhere along the line she’d fallen hard, and even the threat of him leaving for another woman wasn’t enough to erase him from her heart.

She didn’t
want
to forget him, though. That was the worst part. At the end of a relationship, it was always a knee-jerk reaction, wanting to pretend the other person never existed. Wanting to forget everything, since memories only added to the pain. Erica didn’t want that. She didn’t want ever to forget how happy she’d been in the weeks she and Riley were together. Feeling like there was something to look forward to. Having a little spark of joy that nothing—not even the holidays—had ever made her feel.

Darn him for making her feel like that. Life would be so much easier if she’d never experienced that joy. She wouldn’t know what she was missing. She resented him for it. For leaving her, and for making her know what she was missing.

“Get it together, girl,” she muttered at her reflection as she prepared for work. She brushed her golden hair into a ponytail, perching it high on her head. She looked at herself from different angles. Maybe it was time for a change again. Bright red? Blue? Maybe just the ends, or maybe her entire head? It was worth considering.

She listened to her favorite songs (though she avoided Queen) the entire way to work, and was actually humming to herself as she walked into the pub through the back door. The kitchen was empty—the lights were on, but nobody was there. Normally, Brady would be helping the cooks cut fries and prep sandwiches and salads on a Friday night.

“Hello?” Erica walked through the kitchen, wondering at the silence. None of the fryers were on. The stove and oven were cold. “What’s going on here?”

Light shone through the window cut in the door leading to the bar and dining room, and Erica followed it. Something was up, and she almost dreaded finding out what it was. Horrible images passed through her mind as she opened the door.

What she saw took her breath away.

First, the lights. Strings of Christmas lights, strung over every surface, crisscrossing each other between the beams along the ceiling. Erica gasped, marveling at them.

Then, the candles, lined up along the bar, on every table, giving a warm glow to the room. And a Christmas tree in the corner, shining bright. It was like a fairytale land.

But it was also June.

“Hello?” Her voice was quieter this time, and a little tremulous.